WKBN’s History Begins Tyler Center’s ‘Bites and Bits’

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The Mahoning Valley Historical Society will kick off its 2016 Bites and Bits of History lunch program at noon Jan. 21 with an installment focusing on WKBN Broadcasting founder Warren P. Williamson.

Tricia Perry, WYSU-FM funding officer and a former news reporter for WKBN, will speak about Williamson, the early history of broadcasting in Youngstown, the race to get on the air, and Williamson’s lasting legacy in the Mahoning Valley.

The society also has announced the next two installments in the series.

On Feb. 18, the documentary “Steel Town” will be shown. The federal government shot “Steel Town” in Youngstown during World War II to highlight the influence and daily life of the Mahoning Valley’s steel industry. Rare footage includes scenes from shift changes, inside the mills and furnaces, and at workers’ homes and other locations that document that period. A discussion with Bill Lawson, MVHS executive director, will follow the showing of the documentary.

The March 17 topic will be the book “Italian Americans of the Greater Mahoning Valley.” Authors Martha Palante and Donna DeBlasio will discuss the ethnic community from the earliest arrivals in the 1890s to circa 1960 and their experiences coming to America, becoming Americans, their neighborhoods, workplaces, and traditions.

Daily parking is available for $2 in the lot on the west side of the Tyler Center. A $6 Bites & Bits lunch special is available, and can be ordered by calling the Overture Restaurant at the DeYor at 330 744 9900.

For the monthly listing of topics or more information, visit the MVHS website or call 330 743 2589.

Pictured: The Tyler History Center in downtown Youngstown.

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